From the press release: Beginning March 1st, The National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame will start accepting online nominations for the 2012 Class of the National Sailing Hall of Fame.

Categories include Sailing, Technical/Design and Contributors. Each candidate should be a U.S. Citizen; however if someone of international birth has had a significant impact on the development of the sport of sailing in the United States, they may be included. Nominees must be 45 years of age or older. Posthumous nominations may be made 5 years postmortem or in the year the deceased would have reached 45 years of age, whichever is sooner. The nomination period will run from tomorrow, March 1 through May 1, with the inductees for 2012 determined by mid-July.

For 2012, up to ten people will be chosen from online nominations by a selection committee appointed by the NSHOF, comprised of representatives from NSHOF, U.S. Sailing, the sailing media, the sailing industry, community sailing, a maritime museum and NSHOF founding member clubs. The Induction Ceremony will be held on October 14th at the Southern Yacht Club in New Orleans.

“Last year we finally joined with other sports that recognize the accomplishments of our most outstanding participants,” said Dick Franyo, President of the NSHOF Board. “The history engendered in the inductees will now be passed on to future generations."

The undertaking to recognize Americans who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of sailing is central to the mission of the National Sailing Center & Hall of Fame which was formed in 2005 and has already completed phase one of its plan to establish a permanent facility on the historic waterfront of Annapolis, Maryland.